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I have a girl crush on Pioneer Woman!

October 12, 2008

I didn't take pictures as I went, but seriously, this is so easy, you don't need pictures.

1. Pick 6 fabrics2. Cut a 13.5 x 16.5 in rectangle from each (I always add a bit to leave room for error ie 14 x 17)3. Stack the 6 rectangles neatly and with your rotary tool on heavy, cut 3 4.5 in strips longways to yield 3 strips 4.5 x 16.5 in4. Cut 1 x 16.5 in off of one 4.5 strip and set the resulting strips aside (yields 1 in and 3.5 in)5. Cut 2 x 16.5 in off the next strip and set the 2 new strips aside (yields 2 in and 2.5 in)6. Cut 3 x 16.5 in off last strip and set aside. (yields 3 in and 1.5 in)7. Cut your backing and batting a little bigger than the finished size of the runner (finished size = 13 x 54 in)8. Lay out backing facing floor then batting and layout strips. I lined up my 6 sets of 6 strips by size and laid them out at a diagonal in a pleasing color/size sequence making sure that there was always greater than 14-15 inches in width all along the runner so I could cut off the excess to square it up later.9. Once it's all laid out the way you like it, use chalk/marker/etc to draw lines to delineate where the final cuts will be made to square up the top = two long lines drawn 13.5 in apart all along length of the runner. This will help you line up the strips as you sew so that you will always have excess on either side to cut off and it will help you keep the diagonal correct.10. With right sides together, begin sewing strips together with the lines you drew lined up until you run out of strips. Finger press as you go!11. When all sewn, press nicely. I then folded my runner in 1/2 twice with the lines all lined up and cut off the excess on both sides with my rotary cutter.12. Then, if you want a perfect rectangle, square up the two ends. You could also just leave it and have a parallelogram, or you could cut the point off to have a double pointed runner. Your call.13. Add a border if you want. I didn't.14. Baste, quilt as desired (I machine quilted with decorative zig zag stitching), and bind with bias tape.

Voila! And it's reversible : ) Happy birthday to my Nanna who always enjoys fancying up a table for guests!